Winsted-Lester
Prairie Journal, March 11, 2002

Winsted's domestic calls up, drug use may increase

The number of domestic abuse calls was up in Winsted in
2001 from 2000.

Thirty-five calls were received for domestic violence,
and eight arrests were made, according to the department's annual report.

"Domestic violence is not just between husbands and
wives or boyfriends and girlfriends. It could be between siblings or roommates,"
Police Chief Mike Henrich said.

The department also had its first homosexual domestic call,
Henrich said.

Overall, most crime and service calls were down or stayed
about the same, he said. "One can see when unemployment is high and
when it's low."

The amount of bad checks usually rises and falls with the
economy, Henrich said.

"In 1997, over 100 bad checks were written. From 1998
to 2000, the average number of bad checks were between 55 to 60. Seventy-six
were written in 2001, with one felony, one gross misdemeanor, and 14 misdemeanor
arrests."

The number of bad checks are still going up even though
the department no longer handles bad check complaints from Casey's General
Store, Tom Thumb, Glenn's Super Valu, and Jimmy's Pizza, Henrich said. "Those
businesses go through a check service that collects them civilly."

"There hasn't been a big change from one year to the
next," Henrich said.

Drugs cases may go up

Henrich believes Winsted will see an increase in drug abuse,
particularly methamphetamine, also known as meth.

"It's the drug of choice right now, and it's easily
available," he said. "We're seeing more activity in drug complaints.

With the threat of meth, the more likely it is that meth
labs will spring up, Henrich said. The department and the fire department
has had training in how to respond to a meth lab call. It was one of a city
wide drills at one time, he said.

"It'll be different when we actually respond to a
lab scene," he said.

On the national level, terrorism is the concern, but how
much that will affect greater Minnesota is still a guess, he said.

Winstock does play into the annual report somewhat, but
it's mostly reflected through the sheriff's department, Henrich said.

The report also reflected the department spent about 33
percent of its time patrolling and 26 percent doing paper work.

Reserve officer Chris Malo generated the report on his
donated time, which was 468 hours for 2001.

"He did a wonderful job with the report. He did it
on his own time, and it only cost the department material. It included high
quality photos and graphics," Henrich said.